Connecticut Lottery Receives 15 Responses for Sports Betting

The process to bring sports betting to Connecticut has taken another step, albeit a small one. The Connecticut Lottery Corp. announced Monday that it had received 15 Request for Qualifications (RFQ) responses to be its online gambling Connecticut partner before an April 23 deadline.

The lottery issued an RFQ on April 12 from qualified and experienced sports betting solution providers for online and retail sports wagering systems and services.

“We are pleased to see significant interest from companies who would like to partner with the CLC to bring our online and retail sports betting offering to market,” Rob Simmelkjaer, chairman of the Connecticut Lottery Corp., said in a news release Monday. “Our staff and board will now begin a process of carefully reviewing the qualifications of the submitting parties as we work towards choosing the right partner in this important initiative for our state.”

The lottery expects to be authorized to conduct retail and Connecticut online sports betting through the use of contracted agents and vendors. This expectation is based on an agreement reached between Gov. Ned Lamont and both of Connecticut’s tribal nations, pending bills before the legislature and inclusion in the governor’s budget bill.

The online sports betting channel from the lottery is expected to be offered through an online and mobile platform, and the retail channel is expected to be operated in up to 15 retail locations, including at least one, each, in Hartford and Bridgeport, according to the news release.

The lottery said it will issue invitations on Monday for presentations of qualified responses, and finalists will be chosen for submission of formal business plans under the tentative timeline provided.

The list of the 15 companies that responded to the lottery was not provided.

State Deal with the Tribes

Lamont and the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes announced on March 18 that an agreement has been reached that will allow Connecticut to offer sports betting and online casino gaming.

Connecticut could become the third New England state to launch sports betting, joining Rhode Island and New Hampshire. The other three states — Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont — have also explored legalizing sports betting. The goal in Connecticut appears to be to have sports betting in place for the 2021 NFL season.

In December 2020, DraftKings Sportsbook and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation entered into an agreement for online sports betting access. The Mohegan Tribe has had a sportsbook deal with Kambi since 2019.